[1] He previously served at Arizona State University as executive vice president of knowledge enterprise development and chief research and innovation officer.

He later enrolled in the doctoral program at the University of Ottawa in Canada and received his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering in 1989[8] while working under the direction of Morris Goldberg.

[11] In 2001, he was promoted to full professor and founded the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC),[12] which is focused on designing technologies and devices for assisting individuals with disabilities.

In the same year, Panchanathan was elevated to IEEE fellow for contributions to compressed domain processing and indexing in visual computing and communications.

[12] Panchanathan was appointed as the university's chief research officer in 2009, where he was responsible for conceptualizing and building large interdisciplinary initiatives at ASU.

[15] In 2016, Panchanathan was promoted to executive vice president of ASU Knowledge Enterprise Development and chief research and innovation officer at the university.

In this role, Dr. Panchanathan leads the advancement of research, innovation, entrepreneurship, corporate engagement and strategic partnerships, and international development.

[22] The establishment of TIP is to deliver “Innovation Everywhere for Everyone” by accelerating the translation of science and technology for economic progress, national security, and societal impact.

The lawsuit alleged that Dr. Panchanathan created a hostile work environment, engaged in gender discrimination, and retaliated against Dr. Sagers by demoting her after she raised concerns about his behavior.